Quantitative analysis of the deflection of a sodium beam by laser radiation
Bernardo Jaduszliwer, GF Shen, Benjamin B. Bederson
We have performed experimental and theoretical studies of the deflection of a sodium atomic beam by a laser tuned to the 3 ${\mathrm{}}^{2}$${S}_{1/2}$,F=2--3 ${\mathrm{}}^{2}$${P}_{3/2}$,F=3 transition. The intensity profile of the deflected beam was measured at different laser power levels and for different laser polarizations. Calculations using a constant force derived from a two-level atom yield deflections which are too large. The results of more realistic simulation calculations agree very well with the measured deflection. Those calculations incorporate the atomic-beam spatial and velocity distributions as well as the laser frequency distribution and polarization state. Optical pumping, loss of atoms to the nonresonant F=1 ground state, and Doppler shifting of the atoms out of resonance are all considered, as also are the statistics and angular distributions of the spontaneous photons.
Physical Review A•Jun 1, 1986•7 citations